Do it if you can, forget it if you can't.

Xia He acted with great efficiency. On the very next day after the official red-head document establishing the position of Assistant to the President of the Municipal Branch was issued, she convened a branch executives' meeting and nominated Fang Qingye for the role.

Following the meeting's approval, the decision was immediately reported to the municipal branch, which granted its official endorsement shortly after.

The entire process took merely a week!

Although certain individuals within the sub-branch held reservations, ever since Zhao Wenjun's resignation, Xia He had essentially ruled supreme. Furthermore, her recent reshuffling of middle management had earned the municipal branch's recognition, leaving no one daring to openly stand up and criticize her decisions.

Besides, over the year and more since Fang Qingye joined the institution, he had helped the sub-branch navigate critical moments, and these events had gradually come to light, making his competence self-evident.

As for winning the first prize in Chinese character input at the municipal branch's skills competition, such a minor achievement hardly needed mentioning.

"Wang Xiaoli, wipe that desk again! It's been empty for months, just look at how dusty it is." Liu Mei'li was currently directing a young girl to clean Fang Qingye's new office.

This office on the third floor originally belonged to Zhao Wenjun. Following Zhao Wenjun's resignation, even after Su Ming was promoted to president, he had never moved into it, so it had remained vacant ever since.

With Fang Qingye's promotion to Assistant to the President, he was assigned to this office, and the General Administration Office was responsible for getting it cleaned first.

Liu Mei'li was always the most enthusiastic about such tasks—provided she was ordering the branch's temporary workers around, of course.

After a busy stretch, the office was finally cleaned. Fang Qingye carried his personal belongings up to the third floor, and once everything was settled, he sat down in the executive chair and surveyed his surroundings.

Well... it was certainly much better than the General Administration Office on the second floor. Office equipment including a computer, printer, fax machine, and telephone were all readily available, and there was even a bookcase nearby.

Of course, compared to the spacious office he had in the Shanghai investment bank prior to his rebirth, it still fell somewhat short.

Still, it was fine. At the very least, he could trade stocks openly at work now, unlike his time in the General Administration Office where he constantly worried about Liu Mei'li catching sight of him and nagging him.

Just as Fang Qingye was about to turn on his computer, his phone rang. Seeing that it was a call from Song Dahai, he answered it casually.

Song Dahai's voice immediately echoed from the receiver.

"Director Fang... congratulations, congratulations."

"Cut it out, stop with the sarcasm. I'm just an assistant to the president, not any kind of director," Fang Qingye laughed and scolded. "Did Chen Meimei tell you?"

"Yeah! If Meimei hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have known at all. You actually kept such a huge piece of good news a secret from your buddy! You're treating us tonight... at Chundu Hotel at the very least, and we're going karaoke!"

"Fine," Fang Qingye agreed readily, knowing there was no escaping this.

"I'll drag Meimei along, and you bring Liu Dong and Bi Qiaoqiao. Oh, and don't forget Bai Ou!"

"Whatever you say," Fang Qingye replied lazily, leaning back in his executive chair.

That evening, the group of six ate and drank at Chundu Grand Hotel, then went singing, finally heading home around 11 PM.

Naturally, Fang Qingye was tasked with escorting Bai Ou back.

After news of Fang Qingye's promotion to Assistant to the President spread, many friends and former classmates offered their congratulations. Some even demanded a treat, though he politely declined them all.

What was there to celebrate over a pathetic assistant position?

He would treat them once he was promoted to branch president!

Of course, a few close relationships were unavoidable. Wang Lei, for instance, upon hearing about Fang Qingye's promotion, made a special trip by bus from Panlong Town to the county seat to congratulate him.

Relatives and friends were no exception. Since Fang Qingye's parents were still vacationing in Hulunbuir, his second uncle hosted a family banquet to congratulate him.

Even more absurdly, his second aunt, Liu Ying, told him that Chen Wang—the woman he had previously been set up with on a blind date—was willing to resume dating him!

What the hell...

As the saying goes, a good horse doesn't turn back to graze on old grass, but isn't she turning back a bit too quickly?

Fang Qingye decisively refused.

That afternoon, shortly after starting work and brewing a cup of tea at his desk, Fang Qingye's phone rang.

Lately, he had been receiving quite a few calls—many from classmates and friends, alongside several business owners he didn't know at all.

Sigh... I'm just an assistant, not the branch president. There's no need to suck up to me, let alone talk about loans.

Fang Qingye unbuttoned his collar, loosened his tie slightly, and picked up the desk phone, only to discover that the caller was none other than Song Dahai.

"Hello... Dahai, what's up?"

Fang Qingye asked lazily.

"Let's grab dinner together tonight."

"Come on, buddy, spare me... I've been drinking every single day lately, the mere smell of alcohol makes me want to vomit now!"

"How about this, we'll only eat food tonight, no alcohol!" Song Dahai said with a smile over the phone. "It's hosted by a friend of mine who wants to meet you."

"What friend?"

"Tian Zhonggu, the owner of Xianfeng Stamping Co., Ltd."

"Dahai, be honest with me. Is President Tian hosting this dinner because he wants a loan?" Fang Qingye frowned.

"Yeah, it's about a loan."

"Dahai, you know as well as I do that I'm just an assistant..."

"Yeye, hear me out. President Tian and I get along well, and he's driven to desperation by coming to me. Their company wants a three-million-yuan loan, and all the required materials have been submitted to your sub-branch. The documents have already been reviewed and meet all the loan requirements."

"Then why hasn't the loan been disbursed? Hasn't it gone to the committee meeting yet?" Fang Qingye asked.

According to banking regulations, specific loan approval operations were handled by the credit department, but all disbursed loans ultimately had to be reviewed and approved by the loan approval leadership committee before issuance.

"Committee meeting? What committee meeting? Your sub-branch hasn't even conducted an on-site inspection yet! President Tian has called several times, but he can't get anyone from your branch to come over!" Song Dahai said over the phone.

Oh...

An on-site bank loan inspection was a crucial step in the loan approval process, primarily involving visiting the enterprise in person to inspect the premises, operational status, and verify that certain accounts met the requirements.

Only after passing the on-site inspection was it possible to submit the case to the committee.

"There have been a lot of companies applying for loans lately. The credit department is swamped and understaffed," Fang Qingye explained, before a thought suddenly struck him.

"Dahai, why didn't you ask Chen Meimei? She's in the credit department, and she's your girlfriend."

"Sigh, don't even get me started on Meimei... I've only just realized that Chen Meimei, just like the head of her department Zhang Qunying, is rigidly dogmatic! Forget about trying to secure a loan through her; she won't even discuss her work matters with me. The moment I ask, she walks away!"

Huh?

Such a strong sense of principle; I wouldn't have guessed.

"Still, having principles is pretty nice, I suppose. If we get married in the future, other people won't be able to bug me to pull strings with her for loans... I actually kind of like it."

Damn it.

Beauty truly lies in the eye of the beholder.

Fang Qingye was momentarily speechless before saying, "Dahai, you're a real friend. Chen Meimei has principles and won't bend the rules, so you come running to me instead?"

"Heh heh, well, aren't we ride-or-die buddies?" Song Dahai chuckled on the other end, then added:

"Yeye, I'm not putting you in a difficult position. Just come have dinner, listen to what he has to say, and do me this favor. If it's too hard to handle, forget it. If we can't do it, we won't do it—it's no big deal."

"Alright then," Fang Qingye agreed.

"Tonight it is, then. Chundu Grand Hotel, I'll text you the room number once I've booked it."

"Food only, no alcohol, no karaoke, and no saunas!"

"Fine, fine, whatever you say, Director Fang."